Pharmaceuticals Industry Leader Teams With Other Top Businesses To Combat Climate Change

Washington, D.C.- Novartis is the latest major company to join a business coalition whose members are committed to decisive action to address the consequences of global climate change. With 71,000 employees and annual sales of more than $19 billion, Novartis, one of the world's leading healthcare companies, becomes the 37th member of the Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC), a project of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

"Novartis has chosen to be a part of the solution. As a leader in healthcare, and now a leader on this critical issue, Novartis is sending a signal that market based solutions will be the way to solve this critical global issue," said Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. "Together with the other members of the Business Environmental Leadership Council, Novartis is showing that success in the marketplace can go hand in hand with success in addressing the most important global environmental challenge of the 21st century."

In 2000, Novartis announced that it would voluntarily reduce its CO2 emissions by three per cent over three years. Novartis (NYSE: NVS, see also, www.novartis.com[1].) is a world leader in healthcare with core businesses in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, generics, eye-care, and animal health, and operates in over 140 countries around the world. Kaspar Eigenmann, Novartis' Global Head of Health, Safety & Environment, had the following comment about Novartis' commitment to the Business Environmental Leadership Council:

Novartis is very pleased to have the opportunity to join the other leading companies in working with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Our membership in the Pew Center's Business Environmental Leadership Council, like our recent endorsement of the UN Global Compact, is part our overall commitment to Corporate Citizenship. We believe that this association will help Novartis achieve its goal of reducing CO2 emissions, and complements the more broad goal set forth in our new Policy on Corporate Citizenship, to "do everything we can to operate in a manner that is sustainable: economically, socially, and environmentally - in the best interest of long-term success for our enterprise."

The Business Environmental Leadership Council was established by the Pew Center in 1998. Its members include major, largely Fortune 500 companies from a diverse group of industries. What the BELC members share is a belief that we know enough about the science of climate change to begin taking reasonable steps now to protect the climate. Acting individually and collectively, these companies are demonstrating that it is possible to take action to address climate change while sustaining global economic growth.

The Pew Center was established in May 1998 by the Pew Charitable Trusts, one of the United States' largest philanthropies and an influential voice in efforts to improve the quality of the environment. The Pew Center is conducting studies, launching public education efforts and working with businesses to develop market-oriented solutions to reduce greenhouse gases. The Pew Center is led by Eileen Claussen, the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. The Pew Center includes the Business Environmental Leadership Council, which is composed of 36 major, largely Fortune 500 corporations all working with the Pew Center to address issues related to climate change. The companies do not contribute financially to the Pew Center - it is solely supported by contributions from charitable foundations.